| HELENA, Mont. – In a last-second change to the $1.9 trillion liberal wish list disguised as Covid relief, the Democrats snuck in an additional provision to the bill that would bar states from implementing tax cuts.
Even after passing the most progressive piece of legislation in history, and saddling our next generations with nearly $2 trillion in partisan debt, President Biden and the Democrats want to prevent states like Montana from delivering much-needed tax relief during a pandemic. As Governor Greg Gianforte continues leading the Montana Comeback Plan, Republicans in Helena have already moved forward in implementing various pieces of legislation that will reduce the tax burden on Montana families and small business, provide tax relief for every Montanan making more than $18,400, completely exempts 4,000 small businesses (including 1,500 farmers) from the business equipment tax, and finally get the economy going again. But Joe Biden is using the liberal tax and spend agenda to make it harder for struggling Americans during the pandemic to appease the radical left and hurting Montanans in the process. In response, Montana Republicans stood up to the Democrats’ attack on Montana’s sovereignty and blatant disregard for the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Senator Steve Daines introduced the “State Fiscal Flexibility Act” to remove a section in the massive and wasteful $1.9 trillion package that prohibits states from providing tax relief. This legislation will give power back to the states to decide when to cut taxes and get Montana’s economy back up and running. “The Democrats used the ‘COVID relief’ package as a way to usher in a new era of big government and crush the independence of state governments in the process,” Daines said. “To punish states that offer their citizens tax relief is a shameful federal overreach and has nothing to do with combatting the pandemic. I will continue pushing back against the Left’s attempts to raise taxes and expand Washington’s power at the expense of Montana taxpayers.” Attorney General Austin Knudsen joined 20 other Republican attorneys general in questioning the legality of the provision, and requesting Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to confirm “that the American Rescue Plan Act does not prohibit States from generally providing tax relief.” The letter also calls the provision “the greatest attempted invasion of state sovereignty by Congress in the history of our Republic.” Despite the overwhelming majority of Montana rejecting the far-left’s big-government agenda at the ballot box in November, D.C. Democrats want to come into Montana and control how we run our state – we cannot let this happen.   |
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